Five people have been arrested after pro-Palestinian protesters sprayed red paint on the walls of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in central London. The groups Youth Demand and Palestine Action, which also staged a protest outside Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer's home on Tuesday, claimed responsibility for the action.
The groups stated they would no longer accept the UK helping to arm Israel. Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said the Armed Forces 'can't and won't be intimidated', describing the protesters as 'the opposite, cowardly criminals'.
The Metropolitan Police and British Transport Police made the arrests on suspicion of criminal damage. Scotland Yard said it would 'never tolerate people causing criminal damage to buildings under the guise of protest'.
In a video posted on X, demonstrators sprayed paint over the MoD walls in Whitehall before displaying a banner reading 'Youth demand an end to genocide'. The groups are demanding that both the Conservative and Labour parties pledge to impose a ban on buying arms from, or selling arms to, Israel.
Youth Demand and Palestine Action have also called for an end to all future licensing for fossil fuel exploration, development and production in the UK, including revoking oil and gas licences issued since 2021. Youth Demand said: 'Young people will not accept the future those in charge have in store for us.'
In a related protest on Monday, Labour's headquarters in London were also sprayed with red paint.
